Max Martin to receive Polar Music Prize

The Swedish hit songwriter and the mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli will be awarded the 2016 prize, founded by ABBA’s Stig Anderson

Laureates of the Polar Music Prize 2016 have been revealed as Swedish pop songwriter Martin Sandberg, who writes under the name Max Martin, and Italian mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli. Martin has achieved 70 Top 10 hits in the UK and 56 in the USA, making him the most successful songwriter in the world over the past 20 years, helping make superstars of artists such as Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Pink, Maroon 5, The Weeknd, Ariana Grande and Adele. The prolific Swede has won the ASCAP Songwriter Of The Year award three years in a row through 1999–2001, and again for a further five consecutive years between 2011–2015.

On 16 June 2016, the laureates will receive the prize from King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden at a gala ceremony at the Stockholm Concert Hall to be followed by a celebratory banquet at the Grand Hôtel. The event will be broadcast live on Swedish national television and will be viewed throughout Europe via TV4 Play. Each recipient receives a total amount of one million Swedish Krona (approx. £82,000)

The Polar Music Prize was founded in 1989 by the late Stig ”Stikkan” Anderson, the publisher, lyricist and manager of ABBA, with the name stemming from Anderson’s record label, Polar Music. The prize celebrates the power and importance of music and is awarded to two individuals, groups or institutions for international recognition of excellence in the world of music.

The board of the Polar Music Prize Foundation consists of representatives from the Stig Anderson family, SKAP (The Swedish Society of Songwriters, Composers and Authors) and STIM (The Swedish Performing Rights Society). The task of scrutinising nominations submitted and selecting the ultimate laureates falls to The Polar Music Award Committee, which comprises internationally renowned artists and musicians as well as other key figures in the Swedish music industry.

Watch Max Martin’s Polar Music Prize 2016 announcement film below and, for more information about the award, visit: polarmusicprize.org